Angelle Seeling -1998

I was only a couple of years into being a motorsports fan in 1998 when I went to the NHRA drag race at the Route 66 drag strip in Joliet. My former boss was a big fan and belonged to the "Top Eliminator" club. This was a fan club that got him into the hospitality tents and a bunch of other good stuff for the race. It also got him good tickets.

Now I'm more of a oval track fan than a drag strip fan. I prefer to watch 43 cars turning laps for 3 hours than 2 cars driving straight for 5 seconds., but there is no denying the awesome power that these machines put out. We got there nice and early so that we could walk through the pits. The NHRA pits are open to the public and you can walk around and check out all the teams working on their cars (or motorcycles). It's really cool to see how much work they put into getting a car ready, and to see how fast they have to work within a time limit. I never really understood how much power these things generate. At one point I was more than 100 feet away from one of the pits when they fired it up for a test. As they were hitting the gas I could feel a blast of heat around my ankles with every rev. Truly amazing.

In racing the best seats are the ones higher up in the grand stand. We got the last row, looking down the track. I couldn't imagine a better seat for this race. We could look behind us and see the cars lining up or their turn at 250 mph, and then turn around and get a perfect view of the cars making their 5 second run. We also had our backs facing the sun all day. All I can say is... lobster.

The picture above is Angelle Seeling, now known as Angelle Sampey and at one time as Angelle Savoie. As you can see she raced pro-stock motorcycles. She was quite successful as a racer, but unfortunately did not win that day. I tried to make her feel better when I got her autograph, but I don't think it worked.

Hilltop Church

This may possibly be Melissa's favorite landmark in Kentucky. We pass this church on the road to Rattlesnake Ridge. This part if the road is somewhat flat, but it still has the twists and turns that we've come to expect down there. You're driving through a residential neighborhood and suddenly this church pops out at you. Every time we drive by, Melissa wants to stop and take picture, and I can't blame her. The scene is truly beautiful. What you don't see in this picture is that the ground behind the church drops off sharply right at the back door. From there there is an incredible view of the valley (holler) between here and Marshes Siding. Actually Jim Cmolik's back yard. You can see that picture in an earlier blog post.

As quickly as the church sneaks up on you, it disappears in the rear view mirror and you're back into the twisting countryside road. And before you know it you're heading downhill to the valley floor again. Hopefully not burning up your brakes as I tried to do. It's just not that much fun reaching the bottom of a hill at a turn in the road and having the brake pedal go to the floor.

This was shot with a Canon 50D and a Canon 17-85mm is lens at 17mm. 1/250 sec at f/11. ISO 100.

Old Ford

As many of you know, my family and I go down to McCreary County in Kentucky every December to bring Christmas presents to the poor kids and to minister to those who have fallen on unfortunate times. This year was no exception. While our specific projects seem to be evolving, we are still doing what we are called to do by God. Over the last few years w've brought down presents for children, helped work a Christmas party up at Rattlesnake Ridge, provided a Christmas dinner for families up at the Ridge, and visited those that we have built relationships with over the years. After all, as Jim Cmolik tells us, it's about sharing the love of God through our relationships, and not the construction. Which is temporary in this world. So as I've gotten to know the area and some of the people that live there, God's put a burden on my heart to take pictures of McCreary County Kentucky. My goal is to define McCreary County in pictures. When I first got the idea, my goal was to shoot the poverty and financial devastation that has gripped that region. I gave this much thought over the three years that I planned this. Unfortunately I was not able to get out and take the pictures I wanted to until this past December. The first shot I took was this truck. I saw it on the side of the road as we were driving in the day before. This was at the north end of the county. As we moved south I went looking for buildings and houses that were burned out, or really run down, and I took quite a few photos of these. But as the day went on, I started being drawn to the beauty of the area. We visited the Natural Arch State Park and got some pictures of natures amazing work. We got some shots in the woods, found another natural arch on the side of a road, and took a picture of a church on top of a hill. It's funny how my goals changed in the midst of the project. I was supposed to be showing the poorest of the poor, but ended up going for the beauty amidst the poverty. Some of the sadness will probably make it into the final project, but I want this area to be represented as a county full of beauty and God's work.

I know many of you have already seen these pictures, but I'll probably post a few more and talk about those a bit.

As I was shooting this truck, a local guy in his pickup stopped to see what I was doing. I thought I would be in trouble so I threw him a little wave. He got a big smile on his face, waved back and drove away. A little wave goes a long way down there.

This was shot with a Canon 50D and a Canon 17-85mm is at24mm, 1/100sec at f7.1 ISO 100.

Mercy at Ground Zero

On August 11th of 2003, the OBCC high school mission team to Philadelphia took a trip to the former site of the World Trade Center, Ground Zero in New York City. This was probably the most humbling experience of my life.

I was standing on a sidewalk that nearly 2 years prior, was covered with the remains of two of the tallest buildings in the world, the wreckage of two jet planes and countless deceased. It was as if time stopped for me when I stopped to think about how many people died in that exact spot. Of course capitalism had taken over the area by that time. Street vendors were selling every manor of chachki that related to the disaster. As a matter of fact I bought a laser etched acrylic block remembering the event.

All around the site there was still evidence of the devastation. The face of a near by building had been sheered off, there were cracks in the sidewalk and there were boarded windows and construction fences blocks away. But dead center in the middle of it all there seemed to be hope. There was construction happening in the "bathtub" foundation of the site, and at the south end of it all was an i-beam framing structure in the shape of a cross. As if God was in control. The fence in the picture was built all around the site. A sturdy, permanent fence around 12 feet high. Not really the kind of fence you can climb. There were signs every 20 feet or so that said "Do not write on fence." But no one obeyed, not even our team. We all had something to say. We felt that somehow we owed it to those who died to remember them somehow.

"Please Lord God, in your wrath, remember mercy. " Habakuk 3:2. Such a statement in such a place. This stood out to me more than any other bit of graffiti on the fence. There were thousands of names written, and much profanity to those who caused this. There were words of remembrance and consolation, but this was the only one I saw that spoke true Christianity. Jesus is all about love, forgiveness, and mercy, and as hard as it may be to share those feelings here, this is what it is like to truly be like Jesus. Please don't get me wrong, I want to see justice served to those responsible, but Jesus died for all.

A simple message scribbled on a fence said so much.

Kentucky Kitty 2010

When in Kentucky this past summer we helped a lady out by building a few handicapped ramps for her. She was to have surgery on her ankle and needed to keep all weight off of it for a few weeks and would end up using a wheel chair. She was very friendly and had a passion for stray animals. She had 2 ducks, a whole bunch of chickens (and a rooster) at least 2 dogs and who knows how many cats. In the week we worked there she actually took in another kitty. The cat here in the photo was only a few weeks old and wasn't afraid of anything. She (I'm assuming a she) would stand under the miter saw while we were cutting boards. Wasn't afraid to walk around us while hammers were swinging and 2 x 4's were flying all over the place. Any way she was only about 8 inches long and really a cute kitty. Nearly every one who worked on this project wanted to take her home. One of the young ladies decided to buy a bag of cat food and bring it out to the site. Unfortunately she placed the food right where we were to be working. You know how hard it is to dig a hole with a cat looking into it? The sad thing about the animals of this area is that they all end up with fleas and tics and other ailments almost at birth. You can see that she already has goobers coming out of her eye. This is the nice thing about a photograph of a cat. No mess to clean up, or food to buy, but with all the benefits of looking at a pretty kitty. This was shot with a Canon Powershot SD 1100 is at 1/320th of a second f/2.8

Woodridge Red Sox 2008

There is something comforting about little league baseball. So much of it is intangible. Not like a major league park with the smell of the fresh cut grass and hot dogs, or the sounds of the organ playing with the vendors yelling "beer here". But things like seeing parents working as first base coaches or scorekeepers. And trying to find a spot in the parking lot where you don't think your car will get hit by a foul ball. Or, cheering for that kid who is just awful and seeing him finally get that first hit after 30 strikeouts.

Both of my kids have played little league ball, and Joey was the last to play in 2008. I think it was Bronco league for Woodridge. The season starts in the spring with evening games where the temperatures drop into the 40's by the end of the game, and by the time the season wraps up temps are in the mid 80's. For as much as you have to deal with, these were some of my favorite nights of the year.

I wanted to try to get some nice shots at one of his games. but I didn't want the typical wide shot. It sounds funny, but composing a good shot for sports is really tough. So I asked my sister in law if I could borrow her 70-300mm zoom to get some nice close-up shots. This was my favorite from this game. I love the action in this shot, especially the dirt and stones spraying up from under the base runners legs. Neither of these children are mine. Joey didn't like to slide.

This was made with my Canon Rebel XT and a 70-300mm zoom.

Cloudgate - April 2010

I decided to spend sometime by myself in the city (Chicago) the other day. Just me and my camera... and a few million other people. It was a beautiful day. Temps were in the mid-sixties and not a cloud to be seen. So late in the morning I decided to head downtown. I left my truck at my parents house in Westmont and took the Burlington Northern Metra line in. I haven't been on a train in close to twenty years and wasn't sure what to expect in prices. Surprisingly cheap. The first thing everyone does when they leave union station is look straight up. The Willis Tower looms over the Chicago River like a giant about to take a drink. It's Chicago's biggest celebrity and people like up to take pictures of it. Including me. I walked down Jackson St. heading toward the lake, taking pictures along the way. Interesting architecture, people, or even an occasional store sign. When I got to Michigan Ave. I turned north toward Millennium Park. There was a large crowd assembling at Millennium Park so I stood around for a while to see what was up. A scene for the upcoming movie "Source Code" was being filmed and a portion of the park was closed to the public. After a while I took the long way over to "the bean" to grab some nice reflection shots. Unfortunately they had just shut down that exhibit. So I positioned my self as close as I could get and shot the picture you see here. It didn't occur to me until later that a shot of the sculpture with no one around it is pretty rare. Seems to be a blessing in disguise.

This was shot with my Canon 50D and the 28-135mm is lens at 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200 in aperture priority mode. Converted to black and white in Photoshop CS4. Minor adjustments for contrast. Seagull atop removed with clone stamp. Darn seagull!

Two Become One

This past weekend I shot Lee and Kelly's wedding out in Crown Point Indiana. It was a beautiful wedding even though it rained most of the day. This was at a Lutheran church with incredible stone and wood work in the sanctuary. It had a very traditional look. The Lutherans have some odd rules about wedding photography during the ceremony which forbade me from entering the sanctuary to take pictures during the wedding. So even though I had to shoot from the foyer, I thought the pics still turned out well.

This shot is one I've been using now for about 8 months or so. As you can see, when the rings are stood up in the crease of a book, and you have a light source behind them, the shadow becomes a heart. I like to open a Bible up to

1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) and make sure some of the chapter is visible. This is one that Lee asked for specifically. We were all in the foyer with bright overhead fluorescent light. There seemed to be no way to get the shadow. One of his groomsmen pulled out a cell phone and used the cameras flash. A pure white LED light. We turned off the foyer lights and after some positioning of the light on the phone, we got a great shadow.

This was shot with my Canon 50D and a Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 1/60sec at f/4 with an ISO of 250. Lens was at 24mm.

Congrats Lee and Kelly.

Praise - Alternate

OK, This is the alternate color scheme. Which one do you like better?

Praise

I've been trying my hand at graphic design lately and found that I have a knack for it. (I think) So after showing some of my work off my friend Sharron asked if I could do her a favor. She and a few other people from our worship team are putting together books with all of the lead sheets used for the worship services at OBCC. Knowing that I'm dabbling in graphics she asked me to design a cover for the binder. I love jobs like this because I learn so much about Photoshop every time I do one of these. It seems to be great way to develop my skills. she gave me a brief description of her vision and told me the verse that they wanted on the cover. Psalm 66:8 "Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard!"

I found the graphic of the hands on line, but I took a picture of some sheet music for the top of the page. The music is Prelude in C Major from the Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach, taken with my Canon SD1100 point and shoot. The idea here is that our praise is rising to heaven, or up to God.

After a little debate about the color, we eventually agreed on the original shown here. I'll upload the alternate color scheme too.

I Love My Truck

I have been a Chevy fan as long as I can remember, so it really surprises me that I love my Ford. After being laid off last year I quickly realized that I needed a vehicle. Ben needed the mini-van and Melissa drives the Blazer so I was stuck at home . I decided to check with my old company to see if they were getting rid of any of the old work trucks and wouldn't you know it, they were. This was the better of the two vehicles and it fell into a price range I could afford. Now I've wanted a pickup truck since I was a teenager and even though I still want a Chevy and for it to be a full size truck, this one fits at the moment. It is still an old work truck though. The body is covered with scratches and pits and other scars. The bumpers are rusted and there is still dirt caked into the carpet. The drivers seat is torn and the interior lights don't work, but I don't care. It's my truck and I love it. I've though about getting rid of the cap, but it works out nice for keeping stuff in the back dry and safe.

Yesterday it was 65 degrees out (in the middle of March) and sunny. I hand washed it and shined up the tires. Then I headed over to a local park to get some pics. Thus taking care of two of my favorite things at one time. Shooting pictures and my truck. This was taken with my Canon 50D and the 28-135mm is lens. Shot at 1/8000, f/3.8, ISO 500.

Did I say that I love my truck?

This is the 3rd incarnation of the baseball. Unfortunately there is no title. I recently figured out how to do reflections and I thought it would be nice for this. Eventually I'll get this one printed and framed. It'll go above the mantel in the family room.

Americas Game

This is my 4th of July version of the baseball. Joey took the picture of the flag. I used that and a stone wall effect to give it this look.

Baseball 2009

I love baseball. So, as a photographer, naturally I like to take pictures of baseball. I had bought a new lens early in the year and wasn't to sure about when I would use it. On a beautiful day in early May I set up a chair in the garage near the overhead door. I used my black hoodie for the backdrop and set up my tripod. With the big door open, it let in tons of great natural light. And with the new lens (Canon 50mm, f/1.8) I had a lot of freedom in lighting this ball. This was shot at 1/3 sec, f/22 with no flash. I did some minor levels adjustments in Photoshop Elements 6. The fun part of this whole picture is that being early may, my birthday actually, the bees were starting to come out and check everything out. So while shooting this baseball I was also chasing bees around my garage with a cardboard box. I found they were living in my overhead door, coming in and out of an old hole that was right above my setup. After a little bit of great stuff foam, the bee problem was gone. This has gone on to become one of my very favorite still life shots and has been used to create other images. I'll post those also.

Spooky Cyclops Pumpkin - 2007

One of my favorite parts of Halloween was letting the kids design their own jack-o-lanterns. I would often get crazy looking faces with features that are too small for the pumpkin's size, or detail that was well beyond my ability as a pumpkin artist. We would try to find a compromise on the design that they wanted and one that I could actually carve. I would do the slicing and let the kids do the major brain surgery. Gutting the pumpkin and separating the seeds. This was one of Joey's ideas from a few years ago, and probably my favorite. We sketched it out on the pumpkin and I broke out my handy dandy dremmel tool to do the carving. It sat around for a few days and I had a few days off due to rain, so I though I'd take a picture. I needed a dark room so I set it on a stool in my bathroom. (no windows) I experimented with a few shots to get the exposure and ended up with a great shot of a jack-o-lantern. I applied the radial blur through photoshop just to give it a little extra spookiness.

Sunset at Disneyworld

Honest to God, these were the actual colors of this sunset. I did not touch this photo up at all.

In February of 2006 Melissa and I went to disneyworld and then to Daytona for a race. I had just gotten my Rebel Xt a few days before and I couldn't wait to try it out. The results of the camera upgrade showed themselves right away. We were at the hotel that night and were heading out to Downtown Disney for dinner. While we waited for the shuttle I couldn't help but notice the incredible colors of the sunset, and me having a thing for sunsets needed to get a shot. I took a few but it was too dark and the images were blurry. So I went used a railing to support the camera and got this shot off. The speed was slower than 1/8th of a second, but it came out just fine. I can't wait to get back there. The sunsets are beautiful, and the mouse is fun too.

Trees 2

So you may have noticed that I have a thing for trees.

In my earlier trees post I explained why I like them, but I'm always looking for another trees shot. To some they may all look alike. Trees in black and white, but I seem to see something fresh every time.

This time I was in Pine Knot, Kentucky on the Hills and Hollers mission trip through church. We heard about an old mill and waterfall near the house we were working on. So, one day after work we hiked into the woods. There was a trail with an occasional challenge, but really pretty nice. Soon we came across a small creek and the trail followed. Up ahead was a small waterfall where another creek intersected the larger one. We were thinking that this isn't all that impressive, but after another 100 yards or so, there is was. The creek slowed down and widened out and fell down stream in a large, two tiered waterfall, and at the bottom were the remnants of the old mill. The whole area was beautiful and full of history. There was an abandoned Civil War bunker along the trail, and with the mill you just kind of knew that something went on in that area at one time.

Anyway, there were opportunities all over to capture tree shots. I took a few others but this is the one that really caught my eye.

This was converted to black and white with Photoshop Elements 6 and adjusted for contrast. Minor burning between trees, and overlayed with a 10% yellow filter.

Locomotive

We were at the Taste of Westmont the other day, and I showed up with my camera. My intent that night was to take long exposure shots of the carnival rides. I'm somewhat a novice with manual mode on the camera so while I was waiting for the sun to set, I decided to experiment with the settings. The first few shots were way overexposed, but I eventually got them to a good level.

To take the shots I needed a tripod and needed to use the 2 sec. timer on the camera. After a while a train came by and I thought "this will be nice".

I quickly set up, and pressed the button and nothing happened. I forgot about the timer. By the time the shutter opened the engine had already passed, but as I found out, 3 seconds of train going by still made for a nice shot.

My cousin Brian got married a few weeks ago and had these twin girls as flower girls. (The other one looks just like this one.) I saw them at the rehearsal and then at the wedding and all they did was frown. I could not get a smile out of them. I don't remember how it happened, but somehow her mom was able to coax one out. Luckily I was there to capture the moment. Not even the hired, professional photographer for the wedding got a shot like this. I see this type of picture all the time in wedding albums and had always hoped I could get one like this. Glowing Highlights, a little bit of color, a blurry background and you've got a wonderful shot. (not to mention a beautiful smile.)

Trees

I have a book by Ansel Adams called "Examples - The Making of 40 Photographs". It is basically an old version of the current photo blog. He shows a picture and then talks about it and the conditions of the day he took it and just goes into detail about what was happening when he took the shot. Much like I'm doing here. 

A few pictures in the book are of trees just standing there. Most often Birch or Aspen. Now I'm not trying to copy his style, but I am often inspired by  the photos he shoots. Reading his books has developed a passion for grayscale photography. I should never try to copy the greats, but I should let myself be inspired by their accomplishments. 

This was taken over at Barth Pond in Downers Grove. It was day one with the new camera and I wanted to get an idea of what I was working with.(More like I was just playing with my new toy.)

I got out early enough so that the shadows were still long and the sunlight wasn't harsh. I often look for a shot that conveys some sort of emotion. Those end up becoming my favorites, but I'm not sure what I feel when I see this picture. I just like it.

Westmont Depot

Back in September Dan asked me to shoot pictures of the local area for the "God of This City" slideshow. So, I went into Westmont one morning to shoot pic of the commuters hopping on the train. I got some strange looks, but hey, I'm a strange guy. I spent about an hour there waiting for the morning trains to arrive and the riders to get on or off. This shot was as I was heading back to my truck. I decided to turn around and get one more. 

I love the parallel lines converging on an imaginary point somewhere in Clarendon Hills. The expantion joints in the platform and the ribbed walls of the train cars. Even the vertical supports on the right pull your eye to that imaginary point. The Early morning contrast I think is the kicker. You can almost see a diagonal line between the light and the dark.

Oklahoma Sunset

And here it is. This is the sunset I had mentioned in the previous post. It was so spectacular that we pulled over on the side of the road to take the shot. 

Beth had just gotten her camera and was just as excited to get out and take these. The white balance setting really brought out the contours of the clouds. There were rain streaks, and the wind was picking up. It looked like we were going to really be in for something. We got out of there before it hit, but about 10 minutes later the wind picked up the dust and blew it around so strong that you couldn't see more than 100 feet. It never rained hard, but we had golf ball size rain drops. it was all done in less than 5 minutes. 

Old Truck

Here we are back in Oklahoma for Josh's wedding. We had just finished up the rehearsal and we were all waiting around while the pastor was finishing up with the happy couple. with camera in hand I decided to wanted around the church grounds for a shot. This truck screamed "Take a picture of me". So I did. I have always envied other peoples photos of old trucks and tractors and the like, so I figured this was my chance. Very little editing was done to this pic. i did a bit of cloning to remove some distracting features, but I didn't mess with the color. I was using my camera with the white balance set to flash. I forgot to change it, but discovered that the flash setting is good for pulling out the definition in the clouds. 

    On our way to the rehearsal dinner, the clouds lifted on the horizon to allow the sunset to peek underneath the cloud deck. It was a spectacular sunset, but that's for another story. 

Epcot 2005

We took our first large family vacation in February of 2005. Not only was it my first time at Disney World, but my first time flying. It was an exciting trip. Each theme park seems to have a centerpiece that makes for great photo opportunities. To get this shot at the big Epcot ball, I had to lay flat on my back. At one point some lady actually stepped over me, but as you can see it made for a nice shot. 

   I actually thought I had lost this picture. I was new to saving and organizing digital files on the computer and for a few weeks I thought it was gone. I did find it and I'm now in control of my files.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole family went to Bengstons Pumpkin Farm back in 2005 to check out all the seasonal festivities. Everyone wanted to go through the haunted barn, except for me of course but I went anyway. Neither my dad or mom like them either, but they went in. With a vague understanding of how haunted houses work, I kind of felt my way around and avoided most of the traps set for me. I had just passed a floor sensor made to set off the surprise and knowing my mom was right behind me, I waited for her  to be scared. Apparently I took the shot at the perfect moment. She hates this picture, but I feel a calling to share it with everyone I can.

Sunset at 30,000 feet

We were coming home from the Caribbean in 2007. As the plane approached the Midwest it encountered a weather system with thunderstorms. It was really cool how the plane flew around the storms, banking left and right. The sun was getting low in the sky and through the cloud tops the sight was spectacular. I dug out "The Beast" from under the seat in front of me, (Not a lot of room there.) and shot this through the window. (duh!)

I am amazed at how different this looks in the sky. You just can't see the cloud contours from the ground like you can from up there.

Josh and Kim 2008

Josh and Kim got married in March of 2008 near Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful day and the Melissa's whole family was together for the event. This was the happy couple heading out to there "limo". Kim's old Toyota Avalon. I took about 12 pictures or so as they headed out to the car, and it was a good thing I did. There was this picture where I really liked the way Kim looked as she is looking for protection from the bubbles, but the look on Josh's face was not all that good. I found this "Josh Head" in another picture from about 2 seconds earlier. With a little copy and pasting I was able to create a really nice portrait of the couple. I probably put more post production work into this photo than any other photo I've done. About 5 hours worth. The seam where I pasted is nearly invisible. Go ahead and try to find it.

Greg Maddux -2005

In 2005 Suzie Martinson gave Dan a gift. She said he could take a Friend to a Cubs game on her expense. He took me. Yea. He got tickets in the front row right at the cubs bullpen. We called all the baseball fans we knew, just to rub it in. I believe Chris Pullman asked for help pulling the knife out of his back. The Cubs lost that night, but it's just exciting being there. This pic was taken as Greg Maddux was warming up before the game. He was less than 20 feet from my seat. it was cool to see a future hall-of-famer and 300+ game winner in action that close to me. 

Abby - 2005

We invited the whole family over for our 10th anniversary in may of 2005. We had a big tent over the driveway with tables and chairs, balloons, centerpieces, and tablecloths. (Someone actually stopped and asked when our garage sale started.)

There was lots of food and people, it was a great day. I was just starting to get into digital photography and image editing but already had a good feel for what I like. Abby here was coloring in the driveway with the chalk we bought. she looked up just as I snapped the shot. that was the moment I fell in love with the "candid shot".  I did a little tweaking with Photosuite image editor and ended up with this. 

Joey wrote a book in school called "Attack of the Killer Cockroaches". 

Apparently giant cockroaches from outer space invade New York City. He needed a cover for his book and there you have it.

Jim Cmolik's Back Yard, McCrearey County, Kentucky

One of the biggest ministries that Hills and Hollers preforms is to Rattlesnake Ridge. Now this isn't Rattlesnake itself, but on the far ridge is the road that you take to get to it. About where I'm standing here is where Jim Cmolik has a chair. He likes to sit there to pray for the folks at Rattlesnake. What a great way to spend time in God's presence, surrounded by his creation.

Broken car , Indiana - 2008

So we're at Uncle Bob's family picnic in Crown Point and my father-in-law decides he wants to open up his camper for the summer. He says it's only 5 minutes away and he recruits me, Ben and Derek to help.  45 minuets later we show up at the campground and take care of business. On the way back we hit a pothole. Not just any pothole, but one that was so big that it knocked out the fillings that I don't even have yet. Minutes later we smell something burning and hear a strange rubbing sound. It turns out he broke the mount that holds the rear tire and axle to the body of the car. Oops. We waited on the side of I-65 near Rensealear for an hour or so. This was taken looking away from the highway (obviously) while lying on my back. Photoshopped to remove color saturation.

355 - 2008

In September Dan Martinson commissioned me to put together a slideshow to the song "God of this City". I took a day and drove around the suburban area that OBCC ministers to snapping photos along the way. The song states that God is not only the God of the universe and all of creation, but also the God if Lombard, Downers Grove, and I-355. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that God knows us on a personal level when we start thinking about how big He really is. This was taken standing on 71st st. looking south at 75th. As you can see, they weren't getting very far.

Blue Sunset - Bolingbrook, IL 2008

I've got a thing for sunsets. During the summer in 2008, we had thunderstorms passing for a few days in a row. This was during a break in the storms and Joey's baseball team was able to get the game in that night. The clouds were awesome that evening. I love how the clouds in the background resemble the shape of the tree line in the foreground. The storms that followed that evening were great.

I was asked to take pictures for the church website one Sunday morning, so I did. I got there early to shoot the worship team during their pre-service rehearsal. I didn't want to interrupt the worship service any more than I was going to. This gave me a chance to get up on stage and shoot the team. I thought this would be a good shot of Dan Martinson. Instead of the usual shot from the front, I thought to back light him. This gave me nice shadows, but also a few nice lens flares. I am also a Photoshop junkie, so I increased the contrast with bringing out the darkness in the photo and amplifying the highlights. It's not one of Dan's favorites, but I don't care. I like it.

My Leafy Wife - 2007

I had spent the entire morning raking leaves that day and ended up with a huge pile in the backyard. I love taking pictures of Melissa so I asked her to doll herself up so that I could take a nice outdoor portrait of her in the leaves. I set up my stepladder over the pile and get the camera ready. She looked great when she came out. I asked her to lie down in the leaves. She thought I was nuts. Almost right away her eyes started watering and her nose started running. This was about the tenth picture I took. By this time her eyes were burning. (must have been the pollen or something) I had her close her eyes and told her to open them at the count of 3. She's a real trooper. Suffering for the sake of my art. She quickly went inside to wash out her eyes.

Trash, Nassau, Bahammas - 2008

We were walking around in Nassau in the Bahamas and we passed this garbage lying on the ground. Melissa was already fed up with me slowing down the hike with my "looking for the shot". I actually went back to take this, got the shot and then saw the rest of the family waiting for me at the street corner. I love black and white photography. Taking out the color forces me to look at the subject and not be influenced by the colors. This picture tells a story. The headline is sad and pulls emotions out of the viewer.

Little Italy, New York City - 1992

In 1992 I went on a missions trip to Philadelphia with the youth group from church. (Oak Brook Community Church) We took a day trip up to Manhattan and walked around the city for hours on end. We ended the day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of the city. The colors on this street were amazing and incredibly vibrant, so I said to myself  "this would make a beautiful color photo, I've got to capture this." As you can see, I forgot that I had black and white film in the camera. It did however turn out to be one of my favorite shots. No color, but so much going on in the scene.